Tie dye with sodium chloride

ABSTRACT

A method of making a tie dye solution for a fabric includes adding a first predetermined weight of sodium chloride to a second predetermined weight of a dye, wherein the first predetermined weight of the sodium chloride is based on the color of the dye. The method further includes mixing the first predetermined weight of the sodium chloride and the second predetermined weight of the dye together to form a dry dye mixture, dispensing the mixed first predetermined weight of the sodium chloride and the second predetermined weight of the dye into a dye bottle, and adding water to the dye bottle having the mixed first predetermined weight of the sodium chloride and the second predetermined weight of the dye to form the tie dye solution.

FIELD

This application relates to a tie dye with sodium chloride.

BACKGROUND

Tie dyeing is a method of producing colorful patterns on clothing. Atie-dye on clothing is made by tying the clothing and then dyeing itwith various colors. This can include folding, twisting, pleating, orcrumpling the clothing, tying it, and then dyeing it with colors. Theresult is a colorful pattern such as a spiral, polka dot, or bulls eyepattern on the clothing. It is desirable to optimize dye strength toimprove its ability to impart color to materials. Sodium chloride (salt)along with urea may be added by an end user (i.e. dispensed separately)to the dye in the dye bottles in an attempt to increase dye strength.But controlled experiments have shown that urea has no beneficialeffects on dye strength.

Tie dyes may benefit from improvements.

SUMMARY

In one aspect of the present invention, a method of making a tie dyesolution for a fabric is provided. The method includes adding a firstpredetermined weight of sodium chloride to a second predetermined weightof a dye, wherein the first predetermined weight of the sodium chlorideis based on the color of the dye. The method further includes mixing thefirst predetermined weight of the sodium chloride and the secondpredetermined weight of the dye together to form a dry dye mixture,dispensing the mixed first predetermined weight of the sodium chlorideand the second predetermined weight of the dye into a dye bottle, andadding water to the dye bottle having the mixed first predeterminedweight of the sodium chloride and the second predetermined weight of thedye to form the tie dye solution.

In another aspect of the present invention, a method of making a tie dyesolution for a fabric is provided. The method includes adding sodiumbicarbonate and a first predetermined weight of sodium chloride to asecond predetermined weight of a dye, wherein the first predeterminedweight of the sodium chloride is based on the color of the dye. Themethod further includes mixing the sodium bicarbonate, the firstpredetermined weight of the sodium chloride and the second predeterminedweight of the dye together to form a dry dye mixture, dispensing themixed sodium bicarbonate, the first predetermined weight of the sodiumchloride and the second predetermined weight of the dye into a dyebottle, and adding water to the dye bottle having the mixed sodiumbicarbonate, the first predetermined weight of the sodium chloride andthe second predetermined weight of the dye to form the tie dye solution.

In another aspect of the present invention, a tie dye mixture for afabric is provided. The tie dye mixture includes a first predeterminedweigh of sodium chloride and a second predetermined weight of dye. Thefirst predetermined weight of the sodium chloride is based on the colorof the dye.

Other aspects of the disclosed invention will become apparent from thefollowing detailed description, the accompanying drawings and theappended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top view of a container containing dye, sodium bicarbonate,and sodium chloride before being mixed according to the first embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of a filler machine and tumbler mixingapparatus in which the filler machine is about to deposit thepre-weighed sodium chloride into the tumbler mixing apparatus containingsodium bicarbonate and dye according to the first embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of a grinding machine that is grindingsodium chloride having a coarse grain to sodium bicarbonate having afine grain according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a top view of a container containing dye, sodium bicarbonate,and sodium chloride uniformly mixed according to a first embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the uniformly mixed dry mixture of thedye, sodium bicarbonate, and sodium chloride of the container of FIG. 4poured through a funnel into a dye bottle according to the firstembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a dye filling machine dispensing apredetermined amount of the uniformly mixed dry mixture of the dye,sodium bicarbonate, and sodium chloride into a dye bottle according tothe first embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 7 and 8 are perspective views of a dye filling machine dispensinga predetermined amount of the uniformly mixed dry mixture of the dye,sodium bicarbonate, and sodium chloride into a dye bottle according tothe first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the dye bottle containing thepredetermined amount of the uniformly mixed dry mixture of the dye,sodium bicarbonate, and sodium chloride according to the firstembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the dye bottle containing water mixedwith the predetermined amount of the uniformly mixed dry mixture of thedye, sodium bicarbonate, and sodium chloride according to the firstembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the dye bottle with the dye solutionmixture, and a pre-moistened fabric dispensed with the dye solutionmixture according to the first embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram of a method for making a tie dye fabricaccording to the first embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It will be readily understood that the components of the embodiments asgenerally described and illustrated in the figures herein, may bearranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations inaddition to the described example embodiments. Thus, the following moredetailed description of the example embodiments, as represented in thefigures, is not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments, asclaimed, but is merely representative of example embodiments.

Furthermore, the described features, structures, or characteristics maybe combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. In thefollowing description, numerous specific details are provided to give athorough understanding of embodiments. One skilled in the relevant artwill recognize, however, that the various embodiments can be practicedwithout one or more of the specific details, or with other methods,components, materials, etc. In other instances, well-known structures,materials, or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoidobfuscation. The following description is intended only by way ofexample, and simply illustrates certain example embodiments.

Reactive dyes have varying solubility in water and affinity for fabric.Dyes with high water solubility tend to stay in the solution rather thanmigrate and affix to the fabric. Adding sodium chloride to watergenerally reduces dye solubility and drives more dye toward the fabric.Higher dye concentrations on the fabric lead to greater dye strength.

Because of the varying solubility of different colors of dye, differentquantities of sodium chloride are required to attain optimal solubilityfor a given color. The present invention has determined the differentsolubility requirements and ideal sodium chloride concentrations foreach color. In addition, the present invention deposits the correctamounts of sodium chloride into the respective dye bottles during themanufacturing process, using standard filler machines. This processmakes it very convenient for the end user to achieve the best resultsand allows the end user to enjoy the benefits of optimized dyesolubility in a pre-bottled solution, so that they do not need tomanually measure and add the sodium chloride.

According to a first embodiment of the present invention, a dye bottle20 is provided as seen in FIG. 10. The dye bottle 20 contains a dyesolution mixture 22 comprising a reactive dye 24 (FIG. 1), sodiumbicarbonate (baking soda) 26 (FIG. 1), sodium chloride (salt) 28 (FIG.1), and water. The dye solution mixture 22 is applied to a fabric 46(usually cotton) that is pre-moistened with water.

Reactive dye is employed to impart color to natural (non-synthetic)fabric fibers. When the dye comes into contact with natural fabricfibers, it forms covalent bonds with cellulose in cotton fabrics. Sodiumbicarbonate is employed to raise the pH of the dye solution and therebyopen up more binding sites on the fabric to receive the dye. Sodiumchloride can be used with certain dyes to decrease solubility in water,which causes the dye to migrate toward fabric and bond with it. Waterserves as the carrier for dye, sodium bicarbonate, and sodium chloride.It wets the fabric and distributes the dye over the surface. The fabric,usually pre-moistened cotton, is the substrate, or surface onto whichthe dye affixes.

Fiber Reactive dye type influences the effectiveness or lack thereof ofsodium chloride. Highly water soluble dyes benefit from added sodiumchloride. They are rendered less soluble in salt water and migrate tomore hospitable environments such as fabric fibers. Dyes that benefitfrom added sodium chloride include, but are not limited to, turquoiseand yellow.

Dyes with lower solubility in water do not benefit from added sodiumchloride because they tend to migrate into fabric fibers as-is. Theadditional “push” from sodium chloride to reduce solubility furthercauses the dye molecules to clump together, or flocculate. The dye willstill migrate toward and adhere to fabric, but the end result is ablotchy, unappealing appearance. Dyes that do not benefit from addedsodium chloride and actually show problematic flocculation include red,fuchsia, violet, and purple.

With reference now to FIG. 12, an example methodology 200 is illustratedand described as to how to make a tie dye fabric according to a firstembodiment of the present invention. While the methodology is describedas being a series of acts or steps that are performed in a sequence, itis to be understood that the methodology is not limited by the order ofthe sequence. For instance, some acts or steps may occur in a differentorder than what is described herein. In addition, a step may occurconcurrently with another step. Furthermore, in some instances, not allsteps may be required to implement a methodology described herein.

First, in step 202, the dye 24, the sodium bicarbonate 26 and the sodiumchloride 28 contents are pre-weighed. As mentioned above, the amount ofsodium chloride 28 added or not added depends on the dye color. Inparticular, for turquoise colored dye, a 4 ounce dye mixture in the dyebottle 20 contains one half teaspoon (about 3.4 grams) of sodiumchloride 28. Other dyes that benefit from salt addition such as yellowcontain one half teaspoon or a lesser quantity of salt per 4 ouncebottle, depending on experimental results. Dyes 24 such as red, fuchsia,violet and purple contain no salt, as experiments have demonstrated thatit is detrimental to performance. FIG. 1 shows the sodium chloride 28,the sodium bicarbonate 26, and the dye 24 of the dye solution mixture 22before being mixed together.

If coarse salt grains 30 are used, the sodium chloride 28 might need tobe added to the bottle in a separate step, or in step 204 grounded by agrinding machine 32 (FIG. 3) to a fine particle size 28 to blend betterwith the dye 24 and the sodium bicarbonate 26. In step 206, the correctamount of sodium chloride 28 is added along with the correspondingamounts of the dye 24 and sodium bicarbonate 26 for the respective dyebottle 20 in a tumbler mixing apparatus 36 (FIG. 2) using a standardfiller machine 38 (FIG. 2). The amounts of the dye 24 and sodiumbicarbonate 26 for the respective dye bottle 20 may also be added intothe tumbler mixing apparatus 36 using a respective standard fillermachine 38 for each substance. FIG. 2 shows the pre-weighed sodiumchloride 28 being added by a filler machine 38 to the pre-weighed dye 24and sodium bicarbonate 26 in the tumbler mixing apparatus 36 to beuniformly mixed.

In step 208, the pre-weighed dye 24, sodium bicarbonate 26 and sodiumchloride 28 contents are then uniformly mixed in the tumbler mixingapparatus 36 (FIG. 2). In particular, the tumbler mixing apparatus 36 isactivated to cause the dye 24, sodium bicarbonate 26 and sodium chloride28 to tumble for 10 or more minutes until the sodium chloride, sodiumbicarbonate, and dry dye mixture 40 is homogeneous. Then, in step 210,the dry dye mixture 40 is dispensed by appropriate weight into the dyebottles 20 using a dye filling machine 42 as illustrated in FIGS. 6-8.Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 5, the dry dye mixture 40 may bedispensed by appropriate weight from a container of FIG. 4 into the dyebottle 20 by a user through a funnel 44 inserted into the dye bottle 20.FIG. 9 shows the dry dye mixture 40 in the dye bottle 20.

Then in step 212, the bottle of the dry dye mixture 40 of sodiumchloride 28, sodium bicarbonate 26, and dye 24 is then added with waterand shaken well for about 60 seconds until the bottle contents aredissolved. FIG. 10 shows the dissolved dye solution mixture 22. Then, instep 214, the dissolved dye solution mixture 22 is dispensed onto apre-folded fabric 46 (FIG. 11). The fabric 46 may be pre-moistened tohelp distribute the dye 24 in the dye solution mixture 22. In step 216,the dye or dyes 24 that are dispensed onto the pre-folded fabric 46 areallowed to set for 6-8 hours or overnight. In step 218, the dyed fabric46 is then rinsed until the water runs clear and then laundered anddried. FIG. 11 shows the dye solution mixture 22 applied to apre-moistened fabric 46.

Alternatively, step 216 could include placing in the microwave oven safecontainer the pre-folded fabric 46 with the dyes dispensed thereon. Thecontainer and fabric are microwaved for two minutes and allowed to coolfor 20 minutes. This reduces the amount of time required for the tie dyeto ‘set’ in the fabric. Normally it takes over 8 hours at roomtemperature, but by using the heat generated in the water by themicrowave, this process can be sped up to around 2 minutes plus acool-down period of 20 minutes.

Sodium bicarbonate 26 raises the pH of the solution and the fabric toexpose the dye bonding sites on the fabric. The salt in turn facilitatesdye migration by making the aqueous (water) environment less hospitableto dye and the fabric (by default) more hospitable to dye. The presentinvention would introduce sodium chloride only to bottles of dye thatbenefit from sodium chloride addition, and in the quantities found tocreate optimal solubility without creating dye clumping, orflocculation. Sodium chloride benefits some dyes, but has little or evennegative impacts on other dyes. It is an objective of the presentinvention to allow interactions between dyes containing sodium chlorideand those not containing sodium chloride to be not detrimental toperformance.

Dye Testing

Dyes are tested by three methods using a control group of fabricswatches with each fabric swatch having dye and sodium bicarbonate dyesolutions, and an experimental group of fabric swatches with each fabricswatch having dye and sodium bicarbonate and sodium chloride dyesolutions in accordance with the present invention.

The first method to administer is the ten drop test on a pre-moistened4″×4″ cotton fabric swatch. The test procedure involves the applicationof ten drops of dye in the center of the 4″×4″ swatch. The second methodis 60 seconds of full immersion of a pre-moistened 4″×4″ cotton fabricswatch in dye solution. The third method is 60 seconds of full immersionof a multi-fabric swatch in dye solution.

In each method above, the swatches are covered with plastic sheeting andleft undisturbed overnight. The following day, the swatches are rinsedunder cold running water until it runs clear. Then the swatches arelaundered on regular cycle (warm wash and cold rinse) using powderdetergent. Finally, the swatches are placed into a dryer on low heatsetting until dry.

Dye Analysis

The swatches are sorted into pairs. Each pair contains one controlswatch and one experimental swatch. Each pair of control andexperimental swatches are visually examined for dye strength. Fabricswatches that show a deeper, more saturated dye shade are considered thebetter performers.

A more objective spectrophotometer evaluation is also conducted on the4″×4″ swatches that are fully immersed in dye solution. The control andexperimental swatches are scanned on a spectrophotometer and a colorstrength analysis is performed. The swatch with the highest calculatedcolor strength is considered to be the best performer. In cases wherethe experimental swatches show increased dye strength compared to thecontrol, salt is added to the formula, up to, and including one halfteaspoon per 4 ounce bottle. In cases where the experimental swatchesshow lesser strength and/or flocculation compared to the controlswatches, salt is not added to the formula.

Although various embodiments of the disclosed tie dye with sodiumchloride have been shown and described, modifications may occur to thoseskilled in the art upon reading the specification. The presentapplication includes such modifications and is limited only by the scopeof the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of making a tie dye solution for afabric comprising: adding a first predetermined weight of sodiumchloride to a second predetermined weight of a dye, wherein the firstpredetermined weight of the sodium chloride is based on the color of thedye; mixing the first predetermined weight of the sodium chloride andthe second predetermined weight of the dye together to form a dry dyemixture; dispensing the mixed first predetermined weight of the sodiumchloride and the second predetermined weight of the dye into a dyebottle; and adding water to the dye bottle having the mixed firstpredetermined weight of the sodium chloride and the second predeterminedweight of the dye to form the tie dye solution.
 2. A method of making atie dye solution for a fabric comprising: adding sodium bicarbonate anda first predetermined weight of sodium chloride to a secondpredetermined weight of a dye, wherein the first predetermined weight ofthe sodium chloride is based on the color of the dye; mixing the sodiumbicarbonate, the first predetermined weight of the sodium chloride andthe second predetermined weight of the dye together to form a dry dyemixture; dispensing the mixed sodium bicarbonate, the firstpredetermined weight of the sodium chloride and the second predeterminedweight of the dye into a dye bottle; and adding water to the dye bottlehaving the mixed sodium bicarbonate, the first predetermined weight ofthe sodium chloride and the second predetermined weight of the dye toform the tie dye solution.
 3. The method of claim 2 further comprisingdispensing the tie dye solution on the fabric.
 4. The method of claim 2,wherein adding sodium bicarbonate and a first predetermined weight ofsodium chloride to a second predetermined weight of a dye is performedusing a filler machine.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein mixing thesodium bicarbonate, the first predetermined weight of the sodiumchloride and the second predetermined weight of the dye together isperformed using a tumbler mixing apparatus.
 6. The method of claim 5,wherein the filler machine adds the first predetermined weight of thesodium chloride to the sodium bicarbonate and the dye in the tumblermixing apparatus.
 7. The method of claim 5, wherein dispensing the mixedsodium bicarbonate, the first predetermined weight of the sodiumchloride and the second predetermined weight of the dye into a dyebottle is performed by a dye filling machine.
 8. The method of claim 2,wherein mixing the sodium bicarbonate, the first predetermined weight ofthe sodium chloride and the second predetermined weight of the dyetogether is performed such that the resulting mixture is homogeneous. 9.The method of claim 2, further comprising shaking the tie dye solutionin the dye bottle until the bottle contents are dissolved.
 10. Themethod of claim 2 further including grinding the first predeterminedweight of sodium chloride prior to mixing the sodium bicarbonate, thefirst predetermined weight of the sodium chloride and the secondpredetermined weight of the dye together.
 11. The method of claim 2,wherein the first predetermined weight of the sodium chloride is at avalue that attains optimal solubility in water for the color of the dyeto achieve optimal dye strength with respect to the bonding of the dyeto the fabric without creating dye clumping, or flocculation.
 12. Themethod of claim 2, wherein one half of a teaspoon of the sodium chlorideper four ounces of the dry dye mixture is added into the dye bottlebefore the water is added.
 13. A tie dye mixture for a fabriccomprising: a first predetermined weigh of sodium chloride; a secondpredetermined weight of dye, wherein the first predetermined weight ofthe sodium chloride is based on the color of the dye.
 14. The tie dyemixture of claim 13 further comprising sodium bicarbonate.
 15. The tiedye mixture of claim 14 further comprising water.
 16. The tie dyemixture of claim 13, wherein the first predetermined weight of thesodium chloride is at a value that attains optimal solubility in waterfor the color of the dye to achieve optimal dye strength with respect tothe bonding of the dye to the fabric without creating dye clumping, orflocculation.
 17. The tie dye mixture of claim 13, wherein four ouncesof the tie dye mixture includes one half of a teaspoon of the sodiumchloride.